Good News For Higgins Community Academy

Looking around desperately for some good news, I thought I'd pass along this press release about computers going to Higgins Community Academy:

"HP and the NBA today announced the six regional first-place winners of the HP Digital Assist education grant competition. In Chicago, Thomas J. Higgins Elementary Community Academy (CPS) was selected as the first-place grant recipient for their submission "The Root People," and will receive more than $80,000 in HP mobile digital classroom technology and other NBA related awards delivered by Chicago Bulls players, NBA representatives and HP executives in early 2010.

Additionally, Higgins Elementary Community Academy received second place for their "Does Weight Matter" submission and third place for "Plug into the Net."

Congrats to Higgins -- anyone else got any good news to share?

HP AND NBA AWARD NEARLY
$500,000

IN HP TECHNOLOGY TO SIX
UNDERSERVED PUBLIC MIDDLE SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

In
early 2010, NBA players, league representatives and HP executives will
deliver more than $80,000 in HP mobile digital classroom technology
and other NBA related awards to Higgins Elementary Community Academy
in Chicago, John B. Hood Middle School in Dallas, Galena Park Middle
School in Houston, Howard A. Doolin Middle School in Miami, Anthony
W. Ochoa Middle School in the San Francisco Bay Area and Charles Carroll
Middle School in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Nearly
90 middle schools signed up to participate in HP Digital Assist in early
September. Using a seed grant of two HP
Tablet PCs, an HP
Photosmart All-in-one Printer
and access to NBA photos, footage and other materials, teams of students
at participating schools produced nearly 300 digital, sports and basketball-themed
submissions that demonstrated their knowledge of math, science and reading
concepts.

HP,
NBA Cares, NBA team representatives and education experts from the International
Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) selected the first-place
winning schools, which will receive an HP mobile digital classroom technology
grant and a special NBA award package valued, collectively, at more
than $80,000. The technology component of the grant includes 25 tablet
PCs, inkjet and LaserJet printers and a mobile storage cart from HP and
professional development from the ISTE for teachers and staff. The NBA
award component of the first-place grants features 50 NBA game tickets,
NBA merchandise and public recognition at a game. Second- and third-place
winners in each city also were announced. Descriptions of these awards,
project submissions and a full list of winners are available at www.hpdigitalassist.com.

"The
collaboration among HP, NBA Cares and ISTE has helped schools reimagine
and enhance their approach to the teaching and learning process, which
is vital to developing the next generation of high-tech leaders and
entrepreneurs," said Engelina Jaspers, vice president, Corporate Marketing,
HP. "We are thrilled to see the excitement for education and creativity
the HP Digital Assist grant program has fostered within these students
and schools, and look forward to seeing the winners use HP technology
to invigorate the learning experience within the classroom."

The
HP Digital Assist competition, which ended Nov. 20, is a component of
the ongoing efforts of HP and NBA Cares to improve student academic
success in vital subjects including math, science and reading. HP and
NBA Cares also worked with ISTE, which provided learning kits, judging
rubrics and training for the competition and will provide professional
development for teachers and staff of first-place schools.

"The
HP Digital Assist grant competition has proved to be a great addition
to the NBA's educational outreach efforts," said Kathy Behrens,
executive vice president, Social Responsibility and Player Programs,
NBA. "Providing more than a thousand students across the country with
the opportunity to combine their passion for basketball with innovative
technology can encourage creativity and enable students to comprehend
key concepts in a more engaging and meaningful way."

The
competition's submission criteria rubrics, set by ISTE, were divided
into five categories, including content, creativity and innovation,
communication and collaboration, digital citizenship, and technology
operations and concepts. Submissions were judged on these criteria,
which, more specifically, included how well the students demonstrated
their knowledge of math, science and/or reading using technology, as
applied to sports-related themes.

Second-place
winners in the six regional markets will receive an HP Classroom Digital
Printing Grant, including four HP Photosmart, Officejet and/or LaserJet
printers and printing supplies, services from Snapfish by HP, tickets
to an NBA game, in-arena recognition and other NBA merchandise. Third-place
grant winners will receive a class kit of 30 HP graphing calculators,
10 indoor/outdoor Spalding basketballs, other NBA merchandise and an
NBA-hosted pizza party. All participating schools will keep the two
HP Tablet PCs and the HP Photosmart All-in-One Printer seed grants they
received to develop their submissions.

About ISTE

The International Society for Technology
in Education (ISTE) is the trusted source for professional development,
knowledge generation, advocacy and leadership for innovation. Representing
more than 100,000 professionals worldwide, ISTE is the premier membership
association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving
teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in
PK-12 and teacher education. Visit www.iste.org to learn more about ISTE.

About NBA Cares

NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility
initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important
social issues in the United States and around the world. Through this
umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than
$115 million to charity, provided more than one million hours of hands-on
service to communities around the world, and created more than 440 places
where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with
internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education,
youth and family development, and health-related causes, including:
KaBOOM!, Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF,
the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS,
Malaria and Tuberculosis.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology
to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society.
The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio
that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure
to help solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ)
is available at http://www.hp.com.

Meet The Blogger

Alexander Russo

I grew up near Roscoe &amp; Halsted in the 1970s, left for college and moved back in 2000, started this blog in 2005 (first on my own, then with Catalyst, and now with ChicagoNow). My dad went to Senn. I went to Near North Montessori and Parker. Since 2006 I've been living in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn -- the Wicker Park of New York City. I have another education blog called This Week In Education that focuses on school reform trends at the national level.